The Swap
by Saru Wolfe
Summary: Jack, Miko, and Raf find a mysterious device, and they would really rather they hadn't. First Ratchet starts acting creepy, and then they're kidnapped by strangely indignant Decepticons. TFP Shattered Glass/Mirrorverse.
1. Chapter 1

When asked what it was they were looking for, Ratchet only replied irritably, "How should I know? We haven't found it yet." Despite his mood, he had offered only minimal protests when Miko and Raf had asked to come with him on his search. The mystery signal was relatively weak and less than ten miles from the Autobot base, so it wasn't like this was a dangerous mission.

It wasn't turning out to be a very exciting one, either. Ratchet's scans couldn't pin down an exact location, so he lumbered in a regular pattern while Jack, Miko, and Raf wandered around the landscape, looking for something out of the ordinary.

"So do we have _any_ idea what it looks like?" Miko asked. "Like, is it going to be something cool and glowy or will it just look like scrap?"

"Well, it's got to be pretty small," Raf noted. They had unanimously decided that he should be on the one to carry the comm in the unlikely ("Highly unlikely, since I am the one with scanning equipment," Ratchet had been sure to inform them) case that they were the ones to find whatever was giving off the signal.

Jack stepped up on a rock and squinted against the Nevada sun. "Do you think it might look like a metal disc with a light in the middle?"

"Where?" Miko demanded, then pointed. "Got it! Come on, let's go see what it does."

"Miko…" But he really shouldn't have expected her to do anything but run towards the mysterious device. Jack sighed deeply and jumped down to jog after her.

Raf lagged behind him at a trot, more concerned with the comm. "Ratchet, I think we found something!" He began giving slightly breathless directions.

"Miko, don't touch it!" Jack called as Miko squatted beside the device.

Miko made a face at him, but she didn't start pressing buttons. "Whatever! It probably does something awesome." She looked expectantly at Raf when he caught up to them. "So what is it?"

Raf pushed his glasses up. "I don't know. It's definitely Cybertronian."

"It could be anything." Jack knelt down to get a better look. It was round, and the symbols on it did look like Cybertronian writing, not that Jack could read it. Miko reached for the light in the middle, and Jack started. "Miko, don't—"

He never knew whether she was the one to activate the device or not. The flash flooded his vision in white, and a strange tremor seemed to leave him slightly out of place. When he felt himself again, though, he was in exactly the same place as before, as were Raf and Miko—and the device.

"Ugh," Miko muttered, "I'm gonna be sick." Raf had taken off his glasses and squeezed his eyes shut.

"What just happened?" Jack asked. "Miko, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," she protested, "and I'm not going to. I do _not_ want to do that again."

"Is everyone okay?" Raf asked faintly.

"I'm fine," Jack assured him.

"Blech," was Miko's response, but then she added, "I think I'm okay."

Raf blinked at the device, worrying at the comm. "Did you feel it? It felt sort of like a ground bridge." The sound of Autobot footsteps made them all look up. Raf brightened. "Ratchet, over here!" He waved.

Ratchet stopped and remained entirely still, watching them. Jack was used to him looking at them with annoyance or exasperation, but now he didn't have any particular expression at all, as if they were insects that had just caught his attention. "Interesting," he said. Jack got chills.

"Ratch, stop being a weirdo!" Miko yelled.

Ratchet didn't react to that. He strolled toward them, which was not as reassuring as it should have been. "Is this a tactic to confuse me, or did the burst of energy somehow tamper with your human minds?" he asked, but he did not sound as though he expected an answer.

"Uh, guys," Jack muttered, backing up. He put both hands out to draw the other two back with him. The more Ratchet spoke, the less he sounded like Ratchet.

"No matter," the possibly-not-Ratchet decided. "You avoided capture once, but I assure you, you will not manage it again."

"What's the _matter_ with you?" Miko demanded. Jack wasn't going to wait on an answer, not when Ratchet sounded like he planned on capturing them. He grabbed Miko's arm and pulled her into a run away from the advancing medic.

Raf was already following. "What's happening?" he asked Jack, voice high.

Jack glanced behind them. Ratchet was not running after them; he was strolling, unhurried, and it was still more than enough to match them for speed. "I don't know. I don't _know_." Jack scrambled for his phone to call Arcee. Maybe _she_ hadn't gone crazy.

A ground bridge opened directly ahead of them before he could dial. Two familiar vehicles came through—but not the vehicles Jack wanted to see. "Run for it—other way!" he bellowed, pushing Miko and Raf to one side. The three of them took off at an angle back toward the Autobot base.

Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough. Breakdown thundered past them toward Ratchet, but Knockout was headed straight for them, and they didn't have a chance. He transformed just long enough to snatch them up and landed back in his alt mode, with them inside. "Breakdown, I've got them. Let's skedaddle."

Jack, trapped in the passenger seat, wrenched at the door handle, knowing it wouldn't do any good. Miko was furious. She kicked at the steering wheel from the driver's seat. "Let us go!" she screamed. "Let us go, you stupid—"

"Miko, what are you _doing_?" Knockout asked. Miko stopped to stare, and Jack couldn't blame her. Knockout's voice had an edge of real bewilderment, like he really had no idea why she'd be trying to break free of a crazy Con kidnapping. "And for that matter, where _were_ you? Breakdown waited on you three for over an hour!"

"Well, he can keep waiting!" Miko snapped back.

Jack tried to be discreet when he hissed, "Miko, stop yelling at the Decepticon…."

But of course she didn't listen. "You just wait, you are in _so_ much trouble—"

"No, _you're_ in trouble, Miko," Knockout growled. His tone wasn't right; it wasn't smug or malicious or anything Jack had learned to expect from the Decepticon medic. He was _mad_. "If you think you're going anywhere but home, school and the _Nemesis_ ever again, I have news for you." The engine gunned.

Miko looked at Jack and Raf and mouthed "School?" but neither of them had any answers.

Jack twisted around to see that Breakdown was close behind them. Great—even if he could somehow get the door open, the other Con would just run them over. "Knockout to the bridge. We have the kids. Get us out of here."

It was too late. The ground bridge opened up right in front of them, and with a familiar tug, they landed inside the Decepticon base.

This time, when Jack pulled on the handle, the door opened. He, Raf, and Miko all but fell out in their haste to get away. It was no use trying to go back; Knockout and Breakdown were between them and the ground bridge. Jack spun around, looking for some escape route, even a temporary one.

"She kicked my steering wheel," Knockout was complaining indignantly.

Breakdown looked at the three of them, and Jack froze in place until he returned his attention to Knockout. "You get whatever that device was?"

"I thought you had it."

There—a corridor, not too far away. Jack began pulling the other two toward it. Maybe, just maybe, they could make it away from—

"Ah, you found them."

Starscream appeared directly in the way of their only escape. They stopped, crashing back together. "I hope you're done berating them. It did not escape my attention that you left for the same area in which we noted strange readings. So if it's all the same to you, I will borrow the clever one."

He reached toward them, putting one hand palm-up on the floor. Jack scrambled to get in front the other two, not that it would do much good if Starscream decided to crush them. Miko resisted, but Raf needed no prompting to hide behind him. Starscream's smirk faded as he stared at Raf in particular. He curled his fingers and laid them on the floor with four light, impatient clicks. "Come along, Rafael."

"Leave him alone!" Miko shouted.

Starscream sneered a little. "Doctor, please control your charge."

"Can't," Knockout replied decisively. "This little number has been going on since we found them." His tone darkened. "Running from the Autobot terror medic, I might add."

"Gyuh—" Starscream's wings pressed back as he winced. "_Ratchet_ was there?" he croaked. "Do you think he…" The Con leaned over Jack, Miko, and Raf, face contorted into some expression Jack couldn't place. "What happened? You _are_ unharmed, aren't you?"

"Unharmed?" Jack repeated incredulously. At this point, he wouldn't have called Arcee even if he could have. Everyone but Miko and Raf was acting oddly. It was like something out of a science fiction movie—more of a science fiction movie than his life had already become, anyway. This couldn't get much weirder.

"Jack."

The universe had been listening, and it didn't like him.

That voice and the slow, thundering footsteps belonged to Megatron. Jack felt the blood drain from his face as he turned to see the Decepticon leader coming toward them. His gaze swept slowly over everyone present, but it was Jack that he looked to last. "What happened?"

"We've gotta go," Jack breathed.

"Yep," Miko agreed, and grabbed Raf's arm. All three of them set off in a dead run. The sudden movement was just enough of a surprise to ensure that they slipped past Starscream. Ushering Raf and Miko ahead of him, Jack disappeared into the corridor, leaving the Decepticons behind—for now.

Whatever was going on, they were in a lot of trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

They were alone on board the Decepticon ship. There was no Bot backup. It was just three humans versus a whole army of bad guys.

And it looked like the bad guys were actually _afraid_ of them.

Miko led the way, boots squeaking across the metal floors as she dashed straight down the middle of the corridor. She heard Jack and Raf behind her, mostly because Raf was squeaking out, "Miko—Miko, are you sure this is a good idea?" Jack was quiet for once, probably making sure they all stayed together. And that meant following Miko.

Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to run down a hallway chock full of Eradicons, but it couldn't have been any worse than going back—so that was the way she had gone, charging through the middle of them, hinging on more of that element of surprise.

And boy, were they surprised. The Eradicons, a hundred times Miko's size and outnumbering the human teens by at least a dozen, were scampering out of their way like a bunch of chickens. It was _great_—they were parting for her. Miko could only guess her reputation had finally gotten around or something.

One of the Eradicons didn't notice them immediately; a huge metal foot swung slowly toward Miko. She cried out and threw her hands up, like that would do any good—and then the Eradicon froze, balancing on the other foot as he looked around wildly at the ground beneath him. Miko yelled out "_Ha_!" and darted past him. Jack and Raf followed, and a moment later they were free of the Eradicons, who all just stood around watching them go.

Miko and the others rounded another bend in the corridor. "Find a door!" Jack ordered.

Miko didn't need him to tell her that. Even she couldn't keep running much longer. She headed for the first door on the right—it was already open, and a quick glance showed there was no one inside. "Come on!"

A moment later, all three of them were inside the room and leaning against the wall, panting. They might have been too short for the door controls, but at least they were out of sight. "Did you see that?" Miko demanded. "They just—" She waved one arm widely to imitate the Eradicons getting out of the way.

"Something's not right," Jack said seriously.

"_Duh_."

"Um…" Raf furrowed his brow at them. "Do the Decepticons _normally_ know our names?"

Miko hadn't thought about that part. She shrugged. Jack frowned. "Soundwave could've…" he started, but he didn't even sound convinced enough to continue.

"What are we going to do?" Raf asked Jack.

Miko scoffed. "Easy. We find a comm and call in some wrecker expertise."

"After the way Ratchet was acting?" Jack pointed out. "No way."

"Have you got a better idea, fearless leader?"

"_Shh_."

Miko put a fist on her hip. "Did you just—"

"Quiet—listen!"

Heavy footsteps were coming steadily down the hallway outside. Miko fell silent and pressed her back against the wall. They shouldn't have tried to hide in a room at all—because when Breakdown entered, slow but sure, they were cornered. He came straight forward and crouched down between them and the door.

"What are you doing?" he ground out. It was the same question Knockout had asked them, but Breakdown sounded ticked.

Was he looking at her? Why was everyone mad at _her_? Jack and Raf were here too. "What do you _think_ we're doing?" This was too freaky. All the Cons had lost their minds.

Breakdown jabbed a finger at her. Not even like he was threatening to squish her—who did he think he was, her dad? "You don't run from us when there's trouble. You know that." He glowered at Jack and Raf. Good—she was tired of being the one who got yelled at. Let _them_ get in trouble. Whatever they were in trouble for. "You _all_ know that."

"We… do?" Jack managed.

Miko blew out a breath, courage fading the longer Breakdown leaned over them. "Figures rule number one is don't run from the Con kidnapping," she grumbled. She glared up and used the last of her bravado with an announcement of, "Bulkhead is gonna kick your _aft_."

Whoa. The Decepticons really _had_ all turned into a bunch of wimps. Breakdown actually looked like she'd hurt his feelings. He was practically pouting. "Fine. Be that way. Come on." He reached for them.

He was pretty lucky that Miko didn't have any superweapons on her right then. As it was, there was no way she could fight a wrecker-sized Con. This time, she didn't need Jack to pull her backwards as they scrambled for the corner. Raf got hidden entirely behind the two of them.

Breakdown sat back and stared at them blankly. At least he wasn't weirdly mad at them anymore. "What the _frag_," he muttered. And then he said, "Knockout? Something's wrong." He paused, presumably listening to his comm. "Yeah. That's what I was thinking." He frowned at them. "We're going back to the bridge. Are you going to walk, or am I going to carry you?"

Jack led the way. Miko and Raf walked behind him. Raf stuck close, but he looked more confused than scared anymore. Breakdown thundered along right behind them, a clear deterrent from any more running. The Eradicons were still there. They stood to one side and watched in restless silence, peering at Jack like they expected him to do a trick or something.

Miko finally broke the silence. "This is freaky."

Jack grimaced at her over his shoulder. "It's like it's not even the same…"

"Universe?" Raf suggested.

They both stared at him. "Spill it, Raf," Miko ordered.

"I don't know." He scrunched up his nose. "I was just thinking about the energy readings we were getting from that device before all this happened. The frequencies were all off. Ratchet said it was kind of like the shadow zone."

Miko pulled a face. "Well, we're not in the shadow zone."

"So where are we?" Jack asked quietly.

Wherever it was, Miko didn't like it. It was the weird kind of science fiction—not the awesome alien robots kind, but the complicated kind with too few explosions. What she wanted was to get back to Bulk, but just the thought of him being all cold and evil like Ratchet—or maybe not knowing who she was—well, she wasn't going to call him _now_.

She was so distracted by the idea that she ran right into Jack when he stopped. "_Augh_." She pressed a hand to her nose. "What was that for?"

Jack didn't answer. He was staring, mouth open, into the gigantic room ahead of them, where the rest of the Cons were gathered around something.

Some_one_, actually. Knockout stepped out of the way to reveal a human coming toward Miko and her friends at a half-jog.

"Jack!" she called. "Are you kids all right? Megatron told me what happened."

Jack's mouth closed. And then it opened again.

"_Mom_?"


	3. Chapter 3

This is the last chapter that I wrote ahead of time, so updates from here on out may take a while.

* * *

><p>Raf sat patiently as Mrs. Darby checked him for injuries. He was a little embarrassed by her fussing, but he didn't really mind. Besides, he was busy thinking over where they were and how they had gotten here. He had heard of alternate dimensions, of course. Once, before he had met Bumblebee, he had tried to come up with a theory on how they could exist. He had gotten as far as the beginnings of a model on his computer. But this was different—way different.<p>

"I'm still not sure how I feel about you three being around the Autobots," Mrs. Darby said. "Different world or not."

"Well, in _our_ world, they're awesome," Miko declared for the fifth time. "It's the Decepticons that are creeps."

"You wouldn't let me hang around them if they didn't protect us," Jack added, a tentatively joking note in his voice. His face fell a bit. "At least, _my_ mom wouldn't."

Raf straightened. "Don't worry, Jack. Now that we know what's going on, I've been comparing notes." He waved the smart phone that Mrs. Darby had let him borrow. "It's just the Cybertronians and their history that's different. All the humans—we're still… us. We just sided with the Decepticons, that's all."

Jack blinked and glanced at him mom. "Really?"

"Raf's right," she confirmed. She put her hands on Jack's shoulders and squeezed. "Besides, I would look after you in any universe."

"Mo-om," Jack complained, but he looked relieved.

Mrs. Darby patted Raf's back to let him know she was done examining him, and then turned to the group of Decepticons milling about the other end of the room. Some were better at pretending to be casual than others. Megatron stood facing the opposite direction with his hands folded behind his back. Knockout and Breakdown were talking, but Breakdown hadn't once turned at an angle that would prevent him from watching the humans. Starscream alternately stared at them and feigned interest in a console he hadn't touched. "They're all right!" Mrs. Darby called.

As hard as it was to get used to, Raf couldn't argue with the fact that the Decepticons cared about them. It definitely explained why they had been talking like angry, worried parents since rescuing Jack, Miko, and Raf from Ratchet. Right now they all seemed happy to hear that there was nothing wrong with the kids. Even Megatron might have been smiling when he turned around.

Soundwave turned away from a console and made a quiet alert noise. Megatron only glanced at the screen before holding up a hand. "Later. The priority now is returning these children to their own world." His eyes narrowed. "And bringing ours back."

"But Lord Megatron," Starscream protested. He pointed at Soundwave adamantly. "The scan is not complete—there's no reason to believe my_—our_ human compatriots are similarly displaced."

"_Please_, Starscream," Knockout drawled. "Do you know what happens when I call Miko?"

Just like it had the first time, Miko's phone rang. Miko held it up to show Starscream.

Knockout used almost the same _voila_ gesture, too. "Besides, if they were here, I _think_ the all-knowing Soundwave would have found them by now."

"The device is the key to this," Megatron declared. He regarded Jack thoughtfully. "What else do you know about it?"

Raf fidgeted. They had already described the device, and Jack and Miko wouldn't know anything else. He took a deep breath. "I saw some of the energy readings from it," he offered hesitantly. "Would that help?"

Megatron nodded. "Go with Starscream. The two of you try to determine how to reverse its effects."

"At once, Lord Megatron." Starscream strode over and reached for Raf.

Raf backpedaled.

He knew that the Decepticons of this reality were allies, but it was hard to stand still while one was trying to grab him. Starscream snatched his hand back, optics wide. "N-no, ah, I'm not—"

Mrs. Darby put a hand on Raf's shoulder. "Starscream's not going to hurt you, Raf."

Even if he hadn't already known that, he would now. Starscream looked as nervous and uncertain as he felt. Raf nodded. "Okay."

Slowly, Starscream lowered his hand to the floor, watching Raf the whole time. Raf trotted over and stepped up to sit on the Decepticon's palm. One he was settled, he gave Starscream a sheepish thumbs-up.

Being lifted up into the air was still a little scary, but not too much because he was already used to how big Cybertronians were. Besides, Starscream was using both hands and carrying him close to his spark, so it wasn't like Raf was going to fall. He leaned carefully over to look at his friends as they left. Jack was the only one watching him go.

"I, ah, would—that is—" Starscream did the Cybertronian version of a sharp exhale, and Raf looked up at him. "I... apologize for startling you."

"That's all right." Raf wanted to say that he hadn't been scared, but that would have been a lie, and not a good one, either. "You didn't mean to."

"Indeed not," Starscream rumbled. There was a slight metallic sound as his wings twitched. And then his voice jumped as he blurted out, "Do you _really_ spend all your time with the Autobot scout?"

Raf started. "Yeah. The Bumblebee I know is... great. He's my friend. He _listens_ to me." Starscream just looked even more unhappy, so Raf tried to push through an explanation. "He's nice. Really. He's not the only one, either. Ratchet didn't like us at first, but I think he's okay with me now. He's even started teaching me Cybertronian."

"_I_ taught you Cybertronian ages ago!" Starscream protested. He made a noise like clearing his throat. "Er... your... counterpart, that is."

"The Autobots and Decepticons are different in the two dimensions," Raf considered aloud, "but the two of me are the same." He craned his neck to look uncertainly up at Starscream. "Right?"

"You are remarkably similar," Starscream confirmed in a strangely quiet rumble.

A door hissed open. Raf peered forward between the Decepticon's fingers. "Whoa. Is this your lab?"

It was big. All the rooms on the _Nemesis_ were big, of course. This one had a double console and human-sized walkways, and half the walls were lined with storage cabinets. There was a disassembled explosive of some kind on a workbench.

"Of course." With that proud tone, he sounded a lot more like the bad Starscream. "And yours as well—so to speak."

"What do you mean?"

Starscream brought Raf to a platform at one end of a walkway, where there was a desk, an office chair, and scattered wires. "Your counterpart's usual place," he explained.

Raf slid carefully off Starscream's hand. "I have a desk?"

"Of course you do. How else would we collaborate?"

The second-in-command of the Decepticons hovered beside the platform and fidgeted. Raf imagined Bumblebee back in his universe, stuck with a Raf who was probably scared of him, and smiled at Starscream. Then he slung his bag off his shoulders and pulled out his laptop. Fortunately, USB drives were still exactly the same, and he was hooked up in no time.

When all the drives came up, he started. "Whoa—this goes straight to the main computer!" He leaned over the screen, a grin forming. "It's all in Cybertronian. Except—" He looked up at Starscream. "I have files on the mainframe! In _English_!"

Starscream smiled a little, which was weird but comforting.

Raf pulled up the sensor samples he had been looking at with Ratchet before they went looking for the device. "Did you get any readings when we showed up?"

"No, but there were strange signals prior to your arrival." Starscream went to his own console. A moment later, another window appeared on Raf's laptop.

Raf leaned toward the screen, the two signals side by side. "They're identical." He pushed his glasses up. "No, wait—can you see this? Hang on." He clicked a likely-looking icon on the corner of the window and peered at the console to confirm that Starscream had both samples to look at.

Starscream hummed and narrowed his eyes at the console, tapping claws along the edge. "It would appear so," he allowed, "but look at the times."

Raf changed the windows around to match them up vertically. "They're not identical," he realized. "They're mirrored." Where the signal Raf and Ratchet had received had subsided, Starscream's had increased, and vice versa, like sine and negative sine. "It's like the signal was moving back and forth between dimensions."

"Which means it must have been communicating with something in this dimension."

"Something that wasn't there when we got here." Raf scrolled through the complete signal from this dimension and saw that it ended at a midpoint. If the device had only transported them here, it should have ended at the peak of the signal. "Starscream, I think we got... swapped."

Starscream stared at him, wide-eyed and looking more frightened than ever.

"They're okay!" Raf rushed to assure him. "I mean, we were right by the Autobot base_—our_ Autobots. They probably picked them up along with the device as soon as they got there. They're good, I promise. They'll take care of them."

"Ah... yes. Of course." Starscream tried not to fidget, failed, and turned to the console. "I will send the signals and the analysis to Soundwave to allow him to do surveillance. If nothing else, perhaps he can find the device you brought with you. And I suspect this will allow us to active it when—" He froze.

Raf had already shut down his laptop and unplugged it. His brow furrowed. "Uh... Starscream? What's wrong? Don't we have to go tell everyone else what we found out?"

Starscream's wings had dropped, and he was staring at the console. Suddenly he reached out, scooped up Raf, and began moving for the door at a jog.

"Whoa!" Raf braced himself against the Decepticon's curled up fingers. "What is it?"

"You said that our children and your Autobots have the device," Starscream said, voice cracking.

"Um, yes?"

"We have to get your device, _immediately_," Starscream hissed. "Otherwise—"

Raf suddenly understood. Otherwise, if the device activated again, his alternate version would end up in the middle of a bunch of very nasty Autobots.


End file.
